The Case of William Black
by A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current
Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can’t accept the finding that her father’s disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father’s case. Post 02x13 “Bobby Johnson”.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Oh, and I selected the title because many of the Cold Squad episodes are titled according to the person whose case the team is working on. So I figured I'd stick close to that. Actually, it's more like I'm terrible at coming up with titles and couldn't think of anything better. Oh well. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Chapter One

Sergeant Ali McCormick sat at her desk sorting through her messages. Out of five, four were from the same woman who had been persistently calling for quite some time now. Normally, Ali wouldn't duck calls, but for the most part, the woman called when she was in the middle of a case and didn't have the time to deal with her, and she wasn't motivated to make time for it either. She had located the file the caller indicated and flipped through it, and it would likely be a waste of time.

However, eventually, she knew that she would have to return the call and tell the woman that she couldn't investigate such an obvious case, particularly because there was no new evidence to justify such an investigation. And she had no excuse not to call right then and there, the Bobby Johnson case was over, the American courts would take care of Ray Farrell despite her screw up.

Detective Eddie Carson was less than pleased with this result, he didn't even want to see a child killer like Farrell executed under the death penalty, but Ali's unease had nothing to do with that. The bastard would likely get exactly what he deserved, and she, unlike Eddie, had no problem with that.

What bothered her, were her own actions, which robbed them of all chance of having the case tried in Canada. If Logozzo hadn't shown up, she knew that there was a decent chance she would have done what she had threatened and executed Farrell right there in the bathroom. If she had never gone to his home, she wouldn't have threatened him, Logozzo wouldn't have stuck Farrell's head in the toilet and they would have had a shot at trying the case.

And then there was Inspector Ross, her boss. She couldn't begin to figure out what their relationship was anymore. The two of them hadn't even had dinner yet, was there even a relationship? And after her screw up…

She shook her head; there was no point this speculation. Every time she did that in a relationship, she tended to get herself into trouble, and at this point, it was possible that she was allowing herself to do so to postpone returning those calls. She picked up the message sitting on top of the stack and reached for the phone. It started to ring before she even touched it.

"Sergeant McCormick."

"Sergeant, you haven't returned my calls."

"Oh, this is Sophie Black?"

"Yes, I've left several messages—"

"I know, I'm very sorry about not calling you back, I've been quite busy. You might not believe me, but I was just about to return your call."

"You're right, I don't believe you."

At least she was honest. "Well, I've read over the case file you indicated and—"

Ali bit her lip, fighting the urge to smile as she spotted Ross strolling through the department and clearly headed her way. Likely as not, he was there to complain about something else she had done that made his job harder, not that she did these things for that purpose, but when the results weren't good, intent mattered precious little in most circumstances.

Despite all this, and the confusion surrounding their relationship, she couldn't say that she wasn't at least a little glad to see him. She was confused, but certainly interested.

"Hold on a second," she said to Sophie, and held the receiver against her shoulder as Ross entered and perched on the edge of her desk.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, meeting her gaze and then looking away as he so often did.

"Trust me, it can wait, it's nothing urgent."

"Well, in that case, would you like to have dinner tonight?"

She didn't have to think about it too hard, the only way she could see the confusion lifting was if they moved forward, and actually talked about it. "Sure."

"Alright then," he stood up, "I'll meet you after work?" At her nod, he smiled and walked out of her office, pausing in the doorway for a moment, "See you then." and continuing on his way.

Ali watched him head back up stairs, passing Logozzo on the way. Once he was out of sight, she remembered that she was on the phone and lifted the receiver back to her ear, "Ms. Black?" There was no answer. She dropped the phone back into its cradle, she knew that wouldn't be the last she heard from Sophie Black, but the next time, she'd likely be angrier. She smiled to herself; dinner was something to look forward to.

"What are you so happy about?" She looked up to find Detective Tony Logozzo grinning at her in that infuriating way. "You know," he said, smirking, "I just saw Inspector Ross and he was looking quite pleased with himself."

"Tony, don't you have work to do?"

He leaned against the door frame, "So, you and Ross, huh? I never would have figured him for your type."

Ali folded her arms and glared at him.

He raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, I get it, it's none of my business."

"Damn right," she muttered, as he walked away.

_Later that day…_

Tony stuck his head into Ali's office, "Hey, McCormick."

She looked up from the paperwork she was preparing to be filed, "What?"

"You got a visitor upstairs."

"Who?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I'm staying out of your business, wasn't that what you wanted?" She rolled her eyes and headed upstairs.

A woman, probably mid- to late-twenties, was sitting on a bench and definitely looking a bit lost or impatient by the way she was looking around, but she was the only one waiting. Ali had a feeling she knew exactly who this was. She walked over to her, "I'm Sergeant McCormick, can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Sophie Black, coming to see you seemed to be the best way to have you take me seriously. Now will you take my case or not?"

"Look, Ms. Black—"

"Sophie."

"Right, Sophie," she sat down beside her, "I have taken a look at the case file and I can't see coming to a different conclusion than the investigating officers did, unless you have some new evidence that I don't know about. Do you have new evidence?"

"No, but I know that he would never have killed himself, my father loved my mother and I, he would never…" She started to cry.

Ali patted her back, "I know it's hard to accept, but sometimes people feel like they can't cope and choose to end their lives, sometimes there's no indication that something was wrong. More than ten years have passed—"

"I think he was murdered, by my mother."

"There's no evidence to suggest—"

"They didn't even investigate her! They just took one look at his past, did as much investigating as they felt they had to and ruled it a suicide! But I know she did it."

"Why don't we go downstairs to my office? I've got the file, we can talk there, alright?" Sophie nodded and followed Ali, who closed her office door behind them. "Now, why would you think your mother killed your father?"

"In most families it's the father, in mine, it wasn't like that. My mother was violent, when she got angry, she hurt…people." She looked at the ground.

Ali flipped through the case file, frowning. "Why didn't you tell Officer Lee about this when you were interviewed?"

"She would have killed me too. I was so scared. Please, Sergeant, I know she killed him."

Ali caved, there was no reason that she couldn't look into this and put the poor woman's mind to rest, and if Sophie was right, make sure that justice was done. "Alright, I'll look into it myself, but I can't promise anything. Do you have your mother's current address?"

"She lives on Willow Road, number 519. Do you need her phone number?"

"No, that's alright, I'll see her in person." Ali scribbled the address on a pad of paper. "I'll call you if I have any news or questions."

"Thank you so much Sergeant."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. I promise that more will happen soon, I just wanted to get this chapter done before I left on vacation, so it's shorter than I would have liked. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Chapter Two

Ali was headed out to her car when she passed Logozzo leaning up against the wall having a smoke, "Hey, where are you goin'?" he asked.

"Just checking something out," she brushed past him, her keys already in her hand.

He pushed off the wall and ambled over, "What's the rush?"

She frowned at him, her brow slightly furrowed, "No rush."

"Then, I suppose you won't mind if I tag along?" He flicked his cigarette butt into the gutter.

"You think I can't take care of myself? I'm not doing anything dangerous."

"After yesterday, I would hope not." She shook her head and gave him a look. "Alright, just tell me that you're not going to stick a gun to someone's head."

"I'm not going to stick a gun to someone's head," she parroted back, unlocking the car.

"Good."

"Good." She got into the car, "Now, don't you have some paperwork to do?"

"There's always paperwork to do," he groused before moving back toward the building.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to actually get it done on time for once," she called after him as she started the car and pulled away from the curb.

The drive to Sophie's mother's house was quite short. After parking the car, walking up the path toward the house, she took in her surroundings. Kendra Black's house was nice, and with the insurance money, this wasn't a surprise, but it wasn't _really _nice. In fact, considering what the file had said about the insurance policy, it could have been a lot nicer.

It was a traditional red brick house, perhaps a bit larger than average, with immaculate gardens and sparkling windows. The roof looked like it had seen some wear, the shutters on the windows had some paint peeling and the grass would probably have to be cut soon, but there was nothing that warranted immediate attention. She ignored the doorbell and knocked on the door.

Less than a minute later, a woman opened the door a fraction, "Yes?"

She held up her badge, "Sergeant McCormick. Are you Kendra Black?"

"Yes."

"May I come in? I need to ask you a few questions about your husband."

"Alright," she opened the door the rest of the way and motioned for Ali to come in, "Would you like some tea? I was just about to make some."

"No thanks."

Mrs. Black led her down the hall and into the living room. The house was clean, though it did certainly look lived in. The carpet was worn, clearly there was no issues in this household about wearing shoes inside; Ali had not been asked to remove hers. The living room showed a prevalent cat theme, the furniture was cat-print; the wallpaper was cat-print, so she found it surprising that the carpet didn't share the same theme. It was green.

After Ali sat down on a small couch, on the face of a tabby, Mrs. Black left the room. While she was gone, Ali took a closer look at the room. The pictures on the wall were mostly of cats, only a few of them were of the daughter Sophie, and none were of the missing husband. Mrs. Black returned with a china cup in hand before long and sat in one of the chairs across from the small couch.

"So, how many cats do you have?"

"None, why?"

"Oh, I just assumed that the pictures on the walls were pictures of your cats."

"No, they were my husband's cats, I don't like cats, but my husband loved them. He loved this room." Her eyes grew moist and she took a big gulp of tea.

"I know that this might be hard after so long, but I have to ask you about your husband."

She placed the cup down on the table beside her, "Why, why after so long do you come here asking questions?"

"Some concerns have been raised and I've been asked to look into your husband's case again."

"My daughter, Sophie, called you didn't she?" Her sharp eyes examined Ali, "Yes, she did, didn't she? She could never accept that her father is gone."

Ali took a deep breath, "Your daughter believes that her father was murdered."

"The detectives were sure that he…"

"I know. Look, if there's the slightest chance that your daughter is right, I have to make sure that justice is done."

"Very well. Ask what you came here to ask."

"Was your husband depressed?"

She sighed, "Yes."

"Was he on medication?"

"He was supposed to be."

"But he wasn't taking them?"

"I didn't know at the time, but no, he wasn't."

"Did your daughter know about his depression?"

"No, we didn't want to upset her."

"What happened the night he disappeared?"

"Well, I was visiting a friend of the family, his wife had just died and I was checking to make sure he was alright. William said he wasn't feeling well and stayed home."

"And Sophie?"

"She was over at a friend's house. When I got home, William was gone and after a couple of hours I got worried. That's when I found the pills he hadn't taken and called the police."

"Do you have the address of this friend? I'll need to speak to him as well."

"Not his current address, but I have his previous one." She left the room, returning shortly with a small piece of paper from an address book.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Well, I'm back and I'm writing again.

Just letting you guys know, I'm working on a BSG story, but it is going to take ages given the progress going on. I'm also working on an RFR story and that should be done sooner. And I've got any number of other ideas not quite formed bouncing around in my head, so we'll see what happens. It's summer, so it's not like I have anything to do. But this story comes first right now.

Thank you to **freitazal **for the kind review, I'm glad that you like my story

Chapter Three

Ali walked into the department and immediately spotted Eddie sitting at his desk and flipping through a file. "Hey, Eddie, could you track down someone for me?"

He shrugged, "I can try, what's it for?"

"Oh, just an old case I'm looking into, it's probably nothing though." She handed him the paper Mrs. Black had given her, "This is his name and previous address, you think you could find his current one?"

He smiled. "No problem."

While Eddie did the grunt work for her, Ali waited in her office, deciding to take one last look at the case file before she confirmed the alibi with the friend and pending that, closed the case again. Admittedly, she was not looking forward to talking to Sophie again. Normally, she wouldn't take what a witness or suspect said at face value, but the knowing tone in Mrs. Black's voice when she figured out it was her daughter who had the case reopened worried her. Though, she couldn't quite put her finger on just why that was.

She shook her head and started to flip through the file, trying to be objective and look at the case as if it were the first time. In the end she had to determine that everything had been done by the book, every alibi had been checked, every suspect had been questioned, all evidence had been processed and the only suspicious factor was that the body had never been found. Was William Black that clever? Could he have committed suicide in such a way as to ensure that he would never be found?

It was a possibility, but then, so was that he had been murdered and the body hidden. If it weren't for the evidence that indicated that he might have committed suicide and lack of evidence and motivation for murder, she would have done with the former as the most viable theory. But she had to remind herself that a lack of evidence was not evidence. Even so, Ali usually had a feeling about these things and this time, somehow, she was sure that it wasn't murder.

Eddie knocked on her doorframe, and she tore her eyes away from the folder. "I got his current address," he announced with just a little bit of triumph in his voice and handed her a post-it with the information on it.

"Thanks," she said simply as he wandered out and took a look at it, and then the clock. The guy's address wasn't that far and she didn't imagine that reconfirming the alibi would take too long; she figured that she would have time to wrap this up before the day's end and in time for her dinner with Ross if she left right away.

As she hurried out, once again she found herself passing Logozzo. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Sorry Tony, no time to talk now," she called over her shoulder, "I'll tell you about it later."

He shrugged, not thinking much of it, and this time, thankfully, allowed her to leave without further questioning. He seemed to have gotten over what she had done on the Johnson case and for that she was glad. The sooner that mess could be put behind her, the better. That train of thought brought her back to the issue of Ross.

Getting into her car, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what to make of the man. One moment, he seemed to be irritated with her beyond all possibility for whatever 'stunt' she had pulled, and the next, he was asking her to dinner. It was all hot and cold with him, and it was hard to get used to at best. Not that she didn't like him, he was just maddeningly hard to read most of the time and she had no idea where they stood anymore.

Her mind preoccupied, she almost drove right by her destination and had to back up slightly to pull into the driveway. If Mrs. Black's house had been just nice, this one was a downright mess. Mess was the only word to describe the state of the property with its overgrown yard and small house in need of desperate repair. It wasn't the worst she had seen, but it was certainly up there. She was just able to make out a stepping-stone path to the front door through the long grass, and could find no other means of reaching the door. Suddenly she was glad she was wearing reasonably thick pants, who knew what lurked in that grass waiting to bite? Not something she wanted to think about.

Walking up the path, she felt uneasy. It wasn't the grass, that didn't warrant worrying about further, it was almost as if she was being watched, but a look around revealed nothing. No suspicious cars, or shadows, or anything that was out of the ordinary really. She shrugged it off and kept walking, not quite able to shake off the feeling entirely. The only plants in the yard, besides the long grass, were some large bushes along the front of the porch, and those too were in need of a trim.

Ali ascended the steps and was about to knock on the battered door (the doorbell, of course, was broken) when she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her, too loud to be the wind. It could have been an animal, but she wasn't going to take that kind of chance. Hand on her gun, she had just started to turn around when someone grabbed her from behind and clamped something over her mouth.

Though at first, determining her attacker's strength to be weak, Ali thought she would be able to overcome him/her, she quickly revised that conclusion as she started to become increasingly dizzy and quickly unable to support her own weight. As she tumbled to the ground, she struggled to see her attacker's face before she passed out to no avail. She lost consciousness before she had a chance.

The attacker tossed the rag she had held over Ali's mouth out of sight, into the bush they had been using to hide, and hauled her limp body back down the path as best as they could, Ali's first impression had been right, if not for her incapacitation by what she would later determine to be chloroform, she would have been able to overcome her attacker with relative ease. Momentarily the attacker stopped, lowering their burden to the stone path and searching for the sergeant's car keys, then continued the struggle to the car and put Ali in the trunk, bound securely.

The chloroform wasn't due to wear off for a couple of hours yet, but there was no reason to take the risk of the sergeant waking up in the trunk and ruining everything. The attacker looked around cautiously, checking whether anyone had seen her actions. When it was determined that no one had, they closed the trunk, climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway, leaving no evidence that Ali McCormick had ever been there, only a rag hidden in the bushes.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

**freitazal, **hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm trying to update as fast as possible without sacrificing any quality. Thank you for the review feedback is always appreciated.

Chapter Four

Inspector Simon Ross signed the last of a stack of papers that required his 'immediate signature' and sighed. He hated paperwork and found most of it quite irrelevant and of little use, but he had to get it done and on time, that would be best for his career and he knew it. But still, he would much rather take off early for dinner with Ali; as if the fiery sergeant would ever consider taking off early, he chuckled at the thought. Her concern wasn't with her career, rather doing a good job and making a difference.

He was hesitant to call their 'dinner date' a 'date,' even if only in his mind. Ross wasn't sure exactly where their relationship was going or if she even thought of their relationship the same way he did. They certainly had had their share of differing opinions in the past, and he wouldn't make the mistake of assuming they were in line on any issue. He only hoped that tonight they would be able to somehow lift the confusion to some degree.

He looked at the clock and determined that it was just about time to head down to cold squad and find Ali. He gathered the loose papers on his desk and slid them into a file folder, tidied up the rest of his desk and grabbed his coat before turning out the lights.

Descending the stairs he looked around, but didn't immediately see Ali. Detective Logozzo was still at his desk, as was Detective Carson, but there was no one else in sight. After checking her office and coming up empty, he decided to ask Logozzo, "Detective, where is Sergeant McCormick?"

Logozzo looked up with a disturbingly knowing and slightly mischievous look in his eyes, "Why?"

"That is not your concern."

He shrugged, "I don't know where she is. She left a couple of hours ago, didn't say where she was going or when she'd be back."

"And you didn't ask?" he said in disbelief.

"Hey, it's not my job to baby-sit McCormick, as I understand it, it's her job to baby-sit me." He leaned back on his chair, "Anyway, I asked earlier today and she bit my head off for it. Figured it was safer to just leave whatever 'it' is alone."

Ross sighed, resigned, "Do you know what she's working on?"

"No, she hasn't mentioned it. Some woman came to see her this morning though."

"Right."

He returned to Ali's office and looked around. It looked normal enough, but she had left an open case file on her desk, and that was something that didn't just seem like something she would do if she were leaving for the night. Which meant that she probably did intend on coming back and hadn't left for the evening.

Ross tried to convince himself that whatever errand she was on was simply taking more time than anticipated and that she would be back soon, but he couldn't help but wonder whether she had just forgotten about dinner or had changed her mind. But she hadn't called and no one seemed to know where she had gone, there was just something that didn't seem right.

He shook his head. There was no sense in speculating on what had happened. After calling both her cell phone and home and getting no answer at either, Ross left a message at both and decided to wait around a while and see if she turned up and her errand had indeed taken longer than expected. If she didn't, well, he would talk to her the next day when she would have to show up for work and have the truth then.

* * *

Ali groaned as she started to come to, but kept her eyes shut, her head was pounding something fierce. She tried to lift her head, but the pain increased and she was forced to abandon her attempt. Slowly she opened her eyes, but nothing much changed. Wherever she was seemed to be very dark, which was probably a good thing at the moment considering the state of her head.

She shifted position and found that though her wrists and calves were sore and irritated, she didn't appear to be restrained, at least not anymore. Carefully she checked her head, feeling for any injuries. There were a few bumps, but nothing too severe, at least, there was no blood as far as she could tell and the bumps seemed to be fairly minor, but she wasn't a doctor. At least she could be certain that she hadn't broken anything.

She turned her attention to her surroundings. All she could determine was that she was somewhere dark, cold, a bit damp and musty, probably a basement given that the floor felt like concrete. Ali didn't dare get up and move around in the dark, lest she injure herself further. She checked herself over again, registering that her coat was gone, as were her gun, badge and the entire contents of her pockets.

She shivered and tried to focus on the fact that soon enough Ross would notice she was missing when she didn't show up for dinner. The only problem was, she hadn't told anyone where she was going or anything about the case, she could only hope that someone would be able to figure it out and find her and fast.

* * *

The next morning when Ross came into work, Ali still wasn't there, and she hadn't called in sick. He tried calling her, but once again was unsuccessful. He lurked around the station entrance and cold squad department for an hour or so before determining that she wasn't likely to show up. Now he was getting seriously worried, it was one thing to miss dinner, but quite another to fail to show up for work the next day as well, and with not so much as an explanatory call. At this point he was certain that something was wrong, and he was determined to find out what.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

**freitazal, **glad you're enjoying how I'm writing Ross, and don't worry, you'll find out relatively soon. I love writing for Ross, he's just so…Ross

Chapter Five

Finally the pounding in her head had started to abate and she sat up. Between her eyes adjusting to the dark and a faint light coming from somewhere above her, she was able to make out some of her surroundings. The room seemed to be mostly empty; all she could see was some puddles of water on the floor and a bench not too far from where she was sitting. At least it would be somewhere apart from the floor to sit.

Ali walked slowly across the room, extending her arms in front of her just in case she hadn't seen any obstacles. As she moved closer, she noticed something sitting on the right end of the bench already, something large. Was someone else a prisoner here as well? "Hello? Is someone there?" She reached out and touched the 'person's' shoulder to get their attention and hastily withdrew her hand. This didn't bode well.

* * *

Logozzo looked up from the file he was reading at his desk and nudged Eddie, who was standing beside him, with his elbow, "Uh oh, looks like we're in trouble."

"What?"

"Inspector Ross is back. This is the sixth time he's been down here today. Whatever McCormick did to piss him off this time must be real good."

Eddie hurried over to his own desk and tried to look busy as Ross, looking very upset, practically stormed into the bullpen, stopping right in front of Logozzo's desk. "Where is sergeant McCormick?" he demanded, no longer content to lurk and wait.

Logozzo removed his reading glasses and looked back up, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Isn't she in yet?" he crossed his arms, trying to cover his worry with impatience.

"No, I haven't seen her."

"Well, when did you last see her?"

"Yesterday afternoon, she was leaving and didn't tell me where she was going. She said she'd fill me in later," he sighed, "Look, I told you all this last night, whatever she did, I'm sure—"

Uninterested in anything further Logozzo had to say, Ross had already started toward Eddie, "Detective Carson, when did you last see her?"

"Just before Logozzo did, yesterday afternoon, she was in her office."

"What were you doing in her office?"

"She asked me to look up a guy for her. I gave her the address like she asked and she left in a hurry."

"And neither of you have seen her since?" They both shook their heads. "Very well. Detective Carson, I want the information you gave her and if she comes in, notify me immediately." As soon as Eddie had given him the address and name he had given Ali, Ross hurried back upstairs.

Eddie furrowed his brow, "Wow, whatever she did must've been bad if she's not coming in to work and Ross is that agitated about it."

Logozzo shook his head, his brow furrowed, "I'm not so sure that it's that simple," he said and went back to his paperwork, leaving the younger detective to wonder exactly how much more he knew and wasn't sharing.

* * *

Ross wasted no time, seeing the same address as Eddie had given to Ali, he came to the same conclusion as she had, there should have been time for her to get there and back easily without running late. So the question was, what went wrong? As he drove down the street, he looked for any sign of Ali's car, but came up empty. He pulled into the driveway and walked briskly up the path toward the house.

He pounded on the door with his fist and shortly after the door opened slightly, revealing an unshaven, dirty looking man. "What do you want?" he snapped.

Ross held up his badge, "Inspector Ross. I need to know about sergeant McCormick's visit."

"Who?"

"Sergeant McCormick. She came to see you yesterday afternoon."

"I didn't see anyone yesterday, I was sick and even if someone had shown up, I wouldn't have come to the door."

"You never saw her?" he asked again.

"I already told you that!"

"She was never in your house?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Are you stupid?"

He ignored the insult. "Do you mind if I look around out here?"

"Be my guest." He slammed the door in Ross' face.

"Charming," he muttered and began looking around. Though the guy was nothing to be admired, somehow, he didn't think he was behind Ali's disappearance; there had been absolutely no recognition when he'd said her name. He didn't know for sure that she had even disappeared here, but if he were lying in wait for someone, the bushes might be a good place to hide.

He crouched down, and sure enough, there were depressions in the ground near the bushes in front of the porch and something white nearly hidden from sight. He pulled a pen from his jacket and nudged it more into his view, it looked like a handkerchief, and he would have dismissed it is trash, plain and simple, if not for what was under it. A gun. 9mm. Standard issue for cops.

Now he knew, this is where it had happened. Either her gun had fallen into the bushes during a struggle, or someone had thrown it in there… The good news was that there wasn't any blood. He pulled out a couple of bags and maneuvered the handkerchief and gun into them carefully. He would take those to the lab, and in the mean time, find out who knew where Ali was going, someone had been lying in wait for her, there was no way it was random.

* * *

There was no mistaking it. What she had touched was bone, and as far as she could tell, the size and position of the body indicated that there was no possibility but human. But who was he? Or she? The conclusion Ali came to was inescapable, there was only one likely possibility: he, or she, was a previous prisoner, but how he died, there was no way to know.

Above her she heard a sort of scraping noise. As she looked up, a square of light appeared, temporarily blinding her. When her vision cleared, she saw someone peering down at her through a trapdoor. She strained to make out a face, and when she did, she couldn't believe who it was. She had to admit, she hadn't suspected this.

The 'someone' above tossed a half-filled water bottle and granola bar down. "You are going to help me sergeant, whether you're willing or not." The door slammed shut, leaving Ali in the dark again, staring up at the ceiling.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. It was stormy weather around here and my dad didn't want the computer on just in case of a power surge, even when it was only rain and the lightning and thunder had stopped. So I didn't finish this in time to post it yesterday.

The seventh chapter is coming along a bit slower than the others, probably since I am a chronic procrastinator, but I estimate that since I should have an afternoon/evening of relative quiet this Friday, it will be up early this weekend, perhaps late Friday if things go well.

Chapter Six

Ross returned to Ali's deserted office and took the open case file from her desk. If she were working on anything, the file would be it, and it might help him figure out what exactly she had gotten herself into. On his way back upstairs, headed towards his office, he passed Detective Jackie Cortez, another member of the cold squad, who was coming in late, "Detective!" he barked.

Her expression was one of surprise; she hadn't expected to be caught by him after she passed his office without detection. "Look, I know I'm late—"

"A woman was here yesterday. She met with sergeant McCormick, find her and have her in my office-" he looked at his watch, "before lunch." He continued walking without missing a beat and slammed his office door behind him, causing several detectives to stare.

"Uh, is that all the information I get?" she asked the closed door in vain. Getting no response, she continued on her way down into the basement. Detective Carson was the only one around at the moment, "Hey, Eddie, what's with Ross?" she called.

"No idea. He's been down here seven times today already and each time he's more pissed off. Tony thinks McCormick did something; only she seems to get him so angry. Is he still on about whatever she did?"

"Well, I passed him on the way down here, he ordered me to find some woman McCormick met with yesterday and to have her in his office by lunch. He didn't even bother to reprimand me for being late. Is there something going on with those two?"

"I'm not sure. Tony seems to know something more, but he's not talking," he thought for a minute, "He could tell you about the woman though, he was the one who let McCormick know that she was waiting."

"Great, where is he?" she asked.

"Where's who?"

"Speak of the devil…" she muttered, then spoke in a louder voice, "Tony, do you remember the woman that came to see McCormick yesterday?"

He plunked down at his desk. "Sure, what about her?"

"Ross wants her in his office in," she looked at her watch, "an hour."

"Well, you'd better get upstairs and check the visitor's logs. I think her name might have been Sandra…no, Sophie. Anyway, it started with an 'S'."

"Right, thanks."

* * *

Ross flipped through the case file he had retrieved from Ali's desk. At first he hadn't been able to understand why she had taken such a case on. Normally she just took on cases she wanted to or at his request, it was less common for her to accept requests, especially when they seemed to be so open and shut. But then he realized exactly why she took on the case.

The request had been filed by a Sophie Black, the missing man's daughter. Whether it was conscious or not, Ross suspected that she had taken on the case because of her own father and how she hadn't known for certain what happened to him for so long. And with the body never having been found, the conclusion of suicide was not iron clad.

The other odd part about it was that he couldn't see what could have gotten her into trouble. There was nothing in the file that indicated that anyone dangerous had been involved, no gangs, drug dealers, serial killers or the like, nothing suspicious.

There was a handwritten note in the file amid the reports and photos, he plucked it out. It was Ali's handwriting and simply said, _'Kendra Black, 519 Willow Road'_

"Hm," he said to himself, "The mother's address…" His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Enter," he called, tucking the note into his pocket.

Detective Cortez walked in, holding a paper, "I found out who the woman was, her name is—"

"Sophie Black," he said flatly, not bothering to let her finish.

She looked at him oddly. "How did you—"?

"Nevermind that, where is she?"

"I don't know, I can't seem to track her down…but I sent an officer to check out her place, see if she's there."

He stood up, scooping up the folder and its contents, "Fine. Let me know as soon as you find her, you can reach me on my cell." She watched as he walked past her and out of the office, grabbing his coat on the way and wondered why he didn't just simply give her the name if he knew it. Something had to be going on, but she wasn't about to ask him about it, not with his mood.

* * *

Ali sat down on the cold ground; there was no way that she was going to sit on that bench beside the corpse. She had gathered the water and food that had been dropped right away, before she would have a chance to forget their exact location in the dark. At least this meant that the objective here wasn't to kill her, unfortunately, she could see no way of giving her captor what she wanted when she was locked in here.

Seeing her kidnapper was a shock though, all the people she had pissed off over the years and who had motivation to do something like this, and yet it was none of them. Of all people it was Sophie Black, which didn't make much sense at all. She was helping the girl, and how she was expected to continue her investigation in such conditions was a mystery to her. And the corpse, was he or she someone who had worked on the case like she was now?

She had no idea what time it was, and she had no way to know how long she'd been out for, but Ali hoped that her absence had been noticed by now. She didn't know how long the patience of the clearly unhinged woman holding her captive would hold out, she certainly hadn't allowed the investigation much time before taking matters into her own hands.

She stared up at the ceiling hidden in the darkness above, "Sophie," she called, "Are you there?" There was no answer, but she continued anyway. "Sophie, I know what you want, and I can't help you if I'm down here. I promised to help you, I didn't lie. Sophie?" There was no sound of movement from above. She sighed, if only she had spoken before, when she knew she was there. Hopefully Sophie did intend to return and not leave her to die, half a bottle of water and a granola bar wouldn't last very long.

* * *

Ross pounded on the door. Only a moment later the door opened a fraction, "Yes?"

"I'm Inspector Simon Ross, are you Kendra Black?" He held up his badge.

"I suppose you want to talk about my husband too," she said, a cold edge in her voice, still not opening the door fully.

"Not exactly. May I come in?" he asked.

"Of course."

He followed her into the house, "Sergeant McCormick already spoke to you?" She nodded, and continued into the living room. "It is of importance that I know everything you said to her."

"Why?" she asked, the coldness in her tone replaced by something resembling mild curiosity. She sat down in an armchair and he perched awkwardly on the edge of what he considered to be a very ugly couch. "Why do you need to bother me, can't you just ask her?"

"I'm afraid sergeant McCormick is missing. I need you to tell me everything you can remember about your conversation."

"Well, she asked me many of the same things the officers did all those years ago, what happened, where I was, where my daughter was, nothing unusual."

"Do you know Alex Kepper?" he asked.

"Yes, he was an old friend who I'm afraid I've had a bit of a falling out with since my husband…"

"Is there any reason sergeant McCormick would be visiting his home?"

"I was with him the night my husband disappeared, she wanted to speak with him."

"And who would have known she was going to see him?"

"Well, just my daughter I suppose, and myself of course."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes, she called and asked about what I told McCormick."

"Thank you for your help."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Sorry about not posting this yesterday as planned, my mom's latest problem with me is that I "spend too much time on the computer," so I'm looking at a reduction in access until the end of this long weekend, when she goes back to work. Geez. She never quits with the nagging. Sigh. I'll start writing the next chapter on paper shudders There will be one more chapter after this one for sure, just to tie things together, perhaps two. I'm not sure yet.

Chapter Seven

That evening, just as the cold squad collectively was about to head home, Ross stormed once again into their domain. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home?" asked Eddie, cautiously.

He stared at the lot of them in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. A group of trained investigators and not one of them seemed to realize what was going on, or even that something was wrong. Were they really that dense? He shook his head. "I need you to do a property search on William, Kendra and Sophie Black. I want the results on my desk as soon as you get them." He turned to leave, "No one is going home tonight." They looked at one another, wide eyed, as he strode away.

Logozzo raised his eyebrows, "Well, I think it's time we found out what's going on. I'd get started on that property search if I were you."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to talk to Inspector Ross," he said.

He jogged up the stairs, catching up to Ross just as he was entering his office, "Inspector."

"Detective Logozzo. I know you haven't finished the search so quickly," he said pointedly.

"The search is being worked on, I want to know what's going on."

Ross closed the door behind them and took a seat behind his desk, "Well, it's about time."

"What?"

"Ali-" he cleared his throat, "Sergeant McCormick has been missing since last night. Are you telling me it took you until now to notice?"

"I knew she wasn't here if that's what you mean. And we all knew something was wrong, even Mickey had to concede that, and you know how she is."

"And you said nothing."

"We didn't know what was going on, you didn't tell us. We thought you didn't want our involvement," he accused.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair, "That's true." Perhaps he had underestimated the cold squad, choosing to think less of them simply because others, some in positions of power, did. The truth was, they weren't just a bunch of washed up cops, despite what was said. "I noticed McCormick was missing last night, but I wasn't certain until this morning. I retraced her steps, best I could, the evidence indicates that she may have been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? What kind of case did you put her on?" he demanded.

"I had nothing to do with this," he responded tersely. He slid the folder across the desk, "This is the case she was working."

Tony slipped on his reading glasses and flipped through the folder, coming to the same conclusion Ross had, "This doesn't make sense, there's nothing here—"

"I know." He took the folder back. "There are only two people who knew where she was last."

"The woman you had Mickey chasing after?"

"Yes. And she can't be found."

"But that makes no sense, McCormick was helping her, why would she do something like this?"

"It's all we have to go on."

* * *

Ali pulled her knees to her chest, trying to keep herself warm. It seemed to be getting colder, and she was sure that sitting on the bench would provide some small amount of relief (at least she wouldn't be sitting on concrete), but she wasn't going to sit next to a corpse. She had no way of knowing how long she'd been here, if she had been wearing a watch, Sophie had taken it, and she couldn't know how long she'd been unconscious, but she was certain that she had missed her dinner with Ross by now. Hopefully he realized she was missing and didn't simply think she stood him up.

Sophie hadn't reappeared since she dropped the small amount of food and water down, and there had been no response when McCormick tried calling out to her a couple more times. Either she wasn't there or was ignoring her…or she couldn't hear her unless the trap door was open. There was no way to know.

* * *

Ross was still sitting at his desk when the cold squad finished the property search. By now it was well into the night, but there was no way he was going to wait for morning, Ali could be in danger, and he wasn't going to chance waiting even a few hours. It didn't take long to obtain the search warrants; there were only three properties in the family's possession, their respective homes and a third that was jointly owned-the old family home-and in which no one lived at present. It was the third that he found most likely, so as he sent officers to check the other properties, he and the cold squad headed for that one.

The house was completely deserted, though did show some signs of recent occupancy, such as fingerprints in the dust, and they searched it from top to bottom, but came up with nothing. They checked every room, every closet, and every cupboard. The cold squad had moved outside to search the yard, but Ross wasn't holding his breath, there was no shed or other structures out there, it was an extremely long shot.

He walked into the kitchen and pulled a chair out from the table. He sat down heavily. If she wasn't here, then where was she? Could he have been wrong, was she at one of the other properties? As if reading his mind, his cell phone rang moments later. Unfortunately, it wasn't good news. Both searches had come up empty. He sighed, rubbing his temples; his options were running out fast. There must have been something he had overlooked. He pushed the chair back, letting it scrape noisily against the floor, and stood up. He would check the house again.

Just as he was about to leave the room, he heard a faint sound. He cocked his head to the side, and staying perfectly still, listened. He heard it again. But where was it coming from?

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Probably one more chapter to go after this one, just to wrap everything up.

Chapter Eight

Ali had almost drifted into sleep when she heard it, a noise coming from above. It was faint and she wasn't entirely sure that she's heard it, but it sounded like it could be footsteps. She looked upward into the darkness, but no more sounds reached her ears. Then, just as she was about to quit and stop listening, she heard a scraping sound, but this time, the trap door stayed shut. "Sophie?" she yelled, "Is someone there?" There was no response, but for the sound of the footsteps once more. Someone was there.

* * *

Ross walked back into the kitchen and stood in the center of the room, listening. A moment later, he heard the sound again. It almost sounded like a voice, though he couldn't make out what was being said. "Hello? Is someone there?" He frowned at the lack of response. He was certain the house was empty, he had checked it himself, and the cold squad was outside. Perhaps whoever it was simply couldn't hear him? Or it wasn't even someone, but some noise made by the aging house.

But then he heard it again. On a hunch he crouched down, and it seemed to get just a little bit louder. He lay down flat on the floor and pressed his ear to the wood. He could just make out a few words, "…is…any…ere?"

He lifted his head. That had to be Ali, unless of course, the Black family made a habit of kidnapping people and hiding them under their floor. Now he just had to figure out how to get down there. Immediately, he thought of two possibilities, either there would be a standard indoor entrance with stairs or an outdoor entrance. The first he rejected immediately. A door leading to the basement would have come up in the search, and there were no doors he hadn't opened. An outside door was possible, he hadn't noticed one outside, he could have missed it, but the cold squad would find that.

There was one more possibility: a trap door. Normally, he wouldn't have thought of the third option, trap doors weren't all that common, but it certainly was possible, and given the unlikelihood of the other options, he would willing to give it a try. And besides, he was already on the floor. He moved slowly across the floor on his hands and knew, searching for anything to indicate the presence of a door. After covering the entire exposed floor, he began to roll back the rug. There wasn't as much dirt under there as he has expected, but he still managed to inhale enough dust to cause himself to sneeze violently. But there it was, the trap door.

It would have been visible under the rug but for the opening mechanism. It was a simple recess in the wood, there was no large iron ring or handle to pull it open, though there were signs that something had been removed. There was no lock either. It was quite well disguised, even without the rug; you'd almost have to be looking for it to see it. He slid his fingers into the recess and pulled the door open.

* * *

She shivered; the cold was really starting to get to her. She had given up on yelling, her throat was sore and she didn't have any water left to soothe the pain. She had eaten the granola bar as well. She heard another scraping sound, but didn't bother to look up this time. And then, the door opened.

* * *

He leaned over the opening, he couldn't see much, the light only illuminated what lay immediately below, "Ali, are you down there?" he called.

"Yes, I'm here," her voice emanated from somewhere in the darkness.

Then she came into view. He thought she looked unharmed, relatively speaking, but he had to be sure, "Are you alright?"

"A bit cold and hungry, but otherwise I'm fine."

"Good. I'm going to get you out of there, just hold on." He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number, "Logozzo, it's Ross. I'm in the kitchen. I've found her, she's fine. I need a ladder. Just get it, I'll explain la—"

While he was on the phone, Ross hadn't heard the front door open, nor did he immediately notice the movement behind him. Seeing the movement, he turned and something hard struck his temple enough to set him off balance and lose him his unstable footing. His head struck the edge of the opening as he fell back, unable to grab onto anything to stop it. He landed hard on his back, forcing the air from his lungs and sending his cell phone flying out of his grasp, smashing into a wall with a sound that didn't bode well.

His vision went completely black for a moment, and he was sure he was going to black out, but he didn't. He figured he was probably lucky he hadn't broken his back, the fact that he could move mad that unlikely, or died, but he wished he had passed out. He had been winded before, but this was many times worse, every gasp breath sent pain ripping through his body.

Ali rushed over to him, "Are you alright?" she asked.

He still hadn't recovered his breath, he was shaking as he struggled to fight the pain and breathe. "I…th…k…so," he choked out.

She leaned over him and pushed his hair back off his sweat-coated forehead. It looked like he would have a nasty bump at the least. She lifted his head gently and ran her fingers through his hair, feeling for damages. Her fingers came away sticky with blood, "Simon, you're bleeding, did you hit your head on the ground?"

"No… there," he said, finally beginning to breathe normally, and weakly lifted his arm to point upward. He groaned, "That lunatic hit me and I fell."

"What lunatic, Sophie?"

"I would imagine. I didn't get a good look."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'll be black and blue for a while, but I can breathe now and I don't think I broke anything."

A shuffling sound from above drew their attention upwards. The trap door was still open and it was Sophie who looked down at them, a terrified expression on her face. Ali wanted nothing more than to yell at the young woman, but perhaps she could be reasoned with, "Sophie, I can still help you, but you've got to let us out of here. Remember, I promised I would help?"

"It's too late… I won't be forgiven…" She disappeared from sight and a moment later they heard the front door slam.

"It was worth a shot. God it's cold down here," he grumbled, easing himself into a sitting position.

"How long…?"

"Almost a day and a half."

"It seemed longer."

"I don't doubt it."

"I was starting to worry I'd end up the previous occupant," she pointed to the bench where the corpse sat. It was much more visible with the door open.

She leaned into his touch as he lifted a hand and gently traced her jaw line with his fingers, "I would never allow that to happen," he said softly. Her lips parted slightly as he cupped her jaw and leaned forward slowly until their lips were just millimeters apart. He could feel her breath, light against his face. "I would find you." He started to close the distance between them—

"Ross, where are ya?" Logozzo yelled from above, "I brought a ladder."

They pulled back abruptly, just before they would have touched. They stared at each other. It was Ross who spoke, "Detective, we're down here."

Logozzo peered down at them, "What are you doing down there?"

"Just lower down the damn ladder," snapped Ross.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Title: The Case of William Black

Author: A.Mind.of.Disturbed.Current

Rating: M

Pairing: Ali McCormick/Simon Ross

Disclaimer: I do not own Cold Squad and I make no money from this story.

Summary: COLD SQUAD. Sophie can't accept the finding that her father's disappearance was likely suicide and pleads with Sgt. McCormick to take on her father's case. Post 02x13 "Bobby Johnson".

Author's Note: There is a disturbing lack of Cold Squad fan fiction around, which is really weird since it's such a great show, so I figured I'd write some myself. Please review and let me know how I am doing.

Chapter Nine

Ross lay sprawled out across his bed, on his stomach, his face pressed firmly into the pillow. His clothes lay all over the floor, literally where he dropped them, along with the bedcovers. He was bare to the waist, wearing nothing but the pants he had been wearing when he fell, not even socks, his bruised back completely exposed.

He groaned starting to stretch before the pain hit him and he remembered why he shouldn't try to move around too much. He turned his head so that his face wasn't buried in his pillow anymore and he could breathe properly again. He really didn't want to get up, he knew it would make the pain worse, but he was definitely not going to spend another day in bed, two days lying on his front was quite enough, despite doctor's orders. It was simply too boring.

They had spent what seemed like hours poking and prodding, scanning and x-raying and in the end had come to the same conclusion he had. And after having the back of his head stitched up, he'd finally been released. He really hated hospitals and was just lucky they hadn't tried to keep him longer because of the head trauma he suffered.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached for the bottle of pills on his bedside table. He took a couple and stood up carefully, trying to avoid causing himself further pain as much as possible. He grabbed a pillow and walked into the bathroom.

Normally, he'd just grab a quick shower and be on his way, but presently, a hot bath proved much more appealing to his aching body. He perched on the edge of the tub and turned on the water, waiting for it to fill up. When the tub was full, he shed his remaining clothes, and gingerly lowered himself into the steaming water. He grabbed the pillow and used it to cushion his back as he leaned back, submerging himself almost entirely; only his face remained above water. He allowed his eyes to close and started to relax.

Ross lay there, completely still, for a while, then he sat up and ran his fingers through his dripping hair, pushing it back off his forehead. He smiled slightly, remembering the feeling of Ali's fingers against his skin. He shook his head, he knew it wasn't a good idea to think too much about Ali, but it wasn't easy. He'd known he was attracted to her for a while, she was a beautiful woman, and even that he was interested in her beyond that, but he hadn't expected to fall for her so fast, they hadn't even been on a date yet, and yet, he found himself feeling much more strongly than he could have expected. He hoped she felt the same way about him, but he found it difficult to tell. He really didn't want to mess this up.

He worked shampoo through his hair, then conditioner, dunking his head under each time to rinse his hair clean. He picked up the bar of soap and worked up lather, washing his skin clean. The water had cooled by the time he finished and pulled the plug. He climbed out of the tubas the water drained. The pain wasn't gone, but between the painkillers and the hot water, he was feeling significantly better than when he woke up.

After towel drying his hair, Ross walked into his bedroom and slipped into a clean suit, no tie though, he couldn't be bothered. He smoothed down his hair with his fingers and put the pill bottle into his jacket pocket before leaving his apartment. It was time to get back to work.

* * *

The case file wasn't on his desk anymore, in it's place there was a report. He sat down behind his desk and glanced down at it. It was a coroner's report. The corpse in the basement had been positively identified as William Black using dental records. The cause of death could not be determined; the level of decomposition was just too high. That wasn't a good sign, without a cause of death; they couldn't be certain whether it was suicide or murder.

He looked up and Ali was standing in the doorway holding a file, "Looking for this? I'd heard you were back." She walked in, "I thought you were supposed to be at home?"

He smiled and stood. "Couldn't stand it anymore."

She noticed he was holding himself stiffly. "Um, how's your back?"

"Sore, but that's to be expected. So, did you solve the case while I was gone?" he asked.

"It's coming together. You saw the coroner's report?"

"Yes. But it still doesn't explain what happened to William Black."

"No, but Sophie did." She sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He walked around and took the other one. "She's not entirely sane, it took hypnosis to get the real story out of her" Ali began, "When her father went missing, she found him in the basement, her mother never went down there, and it's very well hidden, so no one knew. She blamed her mother for what happened and came to hate her. The story about the abuse wasn't true, her mother was perfectly normal."

"So…she came to believe her mother murdered her father, and kidnapped you because she thought you could see something that she couldn't?" Ali nodded. "Where is she now?"

"Institutionalized, at least until trial, but I can't imagine she'll see jail time."

"No, she's not in her right mind." Ali got up to leave. "Wait," he said, "Would you like to have dinner sometime?"

"Sure."

"How about when this case is wrapped up?"

"Sounds good."

He smiled to himself; this was one time he intended on working overtime to get all the paperwork squared away as soon as possible.

The End.

Author's Note: Well, this is the end. I hope that everyone reading this has enjoyed doing so, and I do intend to write a follow-up piece (or two, they still have to have dinner, don't they? ), but I'll be doing at least one other story for a different fandom first, while I gather my ideas.

Thank you **freitazal**, for reading and reviewing regularly, I appreciate your feedback.


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